River stood and stretched before taking a step towards the hall of cabins. If she didn't get some respite from all these minds… Flag's eyes snapped to her at the movement and he stood, "Where'd you think you're going? Both of you?" He added as Riddick stood up behind her.

"She would like privacy, to meditate, to adjust…" River tilted her head towards the doorway. There were at least five or six small rooms, suitable for soldiers bunking in close quarters. Half of them were filled with the elite Purple bellies associated with the Parliament, less than Operatives, more than simple soldiers. But there were three rooms empty.

"Rather you stay here," Flag shook his head.

"Not under his command," River shook hers right back at him.

"Flag, you really don't wanna argue with her," Mal commented laconically from his spot at the table. "She'll win and all you'll end up with is frustration and a headache. You ain't a genius. No way you're gonna win an argument with her."

"Reynolds, you aren't in charge here," Flag shot back.

River sighed, "Dà xiàng bào zhà shì de lā dù zi." Riddick's smothered chortle behind her drew a half quirk of her mouth. "Colonel Flag, we are here for the mission. Not to stoke your ego. None of us are here because of you. Please do not force me to demonstrate just how… ineffectual your associate would be in preventing me doing anything I choose."

Flag bristled and Katana's mouth tightened under her white mask, looking at her commander for instruction. Riddick's slash of his hand prevented any outburst, "We're going to one of the rooms. Neither of us is used to this many people anymore and it'd be nice if we made it to the damn planet without carving out your liver through sheer tiān shā de irritation."

The sergeant who was leading the soldiers leaned against the hall door, "Flag, I get that you're on edge. But maybe you could try to remember that all of these folks have been in solitary confinement for at least a year? I'd be climbin' the walls." He nodded politely at River, "I'm GQ, don't know if you caught that earlier. There's a room, two doors down, two of the bunks are already flat to the walls. Plenty of space to meditate." He eyed Riddick and then Waylon, "Sorry the bunks aren't all that big, might not be very comfortable for guys your size. But the mattresses are removable, could just put 'em on the floor and rest there if you want."

"Very kind," River offered him a smile. For an Alliance soldier he was fairly sympathetic. He wasn't bad looking either. Very pretty. Not her type, more a Core look that reminded her of Simon though his coloring was different.

Riddick had a hand at the small of her back, gentle but urging her forward to the room in question, "You thinkin' an hour or two?"

"Hmm," She sank down on one of the bunks gratefully and laid her sword across her knees, taking a deep slow breath. "He need not stay with her if he would like to join the card game."

"Cards are pointless when you can read tells like a book," He shrugged. "A little quiet is good. Quiet with you in the room, that's even better. And if you need an anchor for a bit, my reaction to that…also none of their business."

River couldn't help the smile that curved her lips, "She feels the same about him." She nodded reluctantly, "If he will anchor her… for a while?"

"Hey, you need it, can spend the rest of the trip in here, get your mind settled," He shrugged and stretched out on the bunk behind her, sliding his arm around her middle.

"It is greatly appreciated," River admitted as she took him at his word and linked her mind to his. Relief came instantly, the subtle ache of her bones that seeped out of her nerves, overstimulation of her brain translating to physical pain eased as she concentrated on only one mind.

"Never told me," His murmur, a low growl of contentment and desire, rolled over her skin like silken thunder. "What'd you see when you anchor to me?"

"Never asked before," The Reader wondered why he was asking now. Because now that they'd accomplished their goal, breaking Mal out of Belle Reve their association was nearing its stated end and he wished to satisfy his curiosity? Or because they were about to do something even more dangerous?

"Didn't seem important before, we both went into this figuring it would end after Belle Reve," Riddick shrugged against her. "Now though… you and I…we're both talking like we want more than a temporary partnership. Seems like there's more weight to it."

Understandable… She thought about it before she could give him an answer. Riddick, unlike anyone else of her acquaintance, encouraged her to use him as an anchor. The minute her pronouns began to slip he would give her a look to remind her that he was available to help. As a result she'd linked to him more than anyone else. Perhaps because of that, it didn't take her mind nearly as long to settle.

Or perhaps it was due to his perspective, his welcome of her mind linked to his. Riddick didn't feel it as an itch or intrusion. His primary reaction, of desire and warmth, didn't feel like anyone else from her perspective. And what she saw…

"Difficult to describe," River set her sword on the floor beside the bunk and allowed Riddick to pull her down beside him, little spoon to his big one, her head tucked under his chin. "Warmth, welcome, affection…" She smiled despite the mental work of putting her mind in order. "Riddick is… like shelter. Protection. A shield to hold others out and she can work to calm her own thoughts."

"Can't say I mind that at all," She could hear his smile. "You know how it feels to me. Like you're caressing every nerve and inch of skin with those soft hands."

"Stimulation of desires…but he welcomes it…" River smiled. "Odd man."

"Furyan," He shrugged, tugged her body closer and she could feel the truth of his words, his body stimulated, aroused and pressing against her pì gu. "Nothing normal about me. And as long as we've got business to take care of, this is as close to sex as you and I get, I'll take whatever I can, when I can."

"Personal motto," She murmured, amused. "His thoughts are… not loud, not over-soft, deliberate. Control… first lesson and the last."

"Yeah, without it, too much goes wrong," Riddick agreed. "Learned early on to keep any impulses locked down. Can't take advantage of opportunities if you're not paying attention. Can't pay attention if you get distracted by incidentals."

"Not simple," River mused. "Animalistic, primal…but not simple minded. Singular purpose does not denote mental deficiency. He is…" She considered. "Riddick is balance. Yin and Yang. The man and animal, in balance with each other. In all things. His thoughts reflect this."

"Took me a long time, but yeah, I got there," His palm spread over her ribcage, fingers caressing lightly. "Makes it easier on your brain?"

"When he is the anchor…she can truly rest," River sighed. "Knowing she does not harm him. He is not uncomfortable, does not mind being her anchor, despite the lust it ignites."

"Well no," His arms encircled her more firmly, possessive but comforting.

River sighed again, complete contentment, when he held her like this. He'd been worried she'd be offended. The first time, pulling away from her before she woke. The second time, she'd woken before him and found herself wrapped in his arms, she'd been startled but pleased. Riddick had woken shortly after and began to disentangle himself only to have her hands tighten on his arms.

She'd caught the thought at the front of his mind, that she wouldn't want him practically dry humping her in his sleep even if it did ease the ache for touch produced by her link to his mind. "Satisfies," She'd murmured thoughtfully. "Touch satisfies when sex is not an option."

He'd nodded shortly, "With you, seems to. Mostly."

"No objections to your touch," She'd smiled. And that had been that. When Riddick acted as her anchor he held her in his arms. After all this time together it became more comforting than anything else.

Simon hadn't liked it, when they'd gone back to Serenity to finalize her plans he'd come across them sleeping like this on the big couch in the lounge. He'd been outraged, and Riddick quietly furious at the implication that he would do anything River didn't want.

They'd gotten it settled but Simon still didn't like it. Too bad for him.

Author's Note: So a little bit of downtime on the way to the warzone. I'm treating this a lot like my husband's description of the army 'hurry up and wait' along with 'long stretches of boredom punctuated by minutes of adrenaline/terror'. And any good soldier knows, when you've got downtime, you rest as much as you can. And I wanted to delve a bit more into the reasons behind Riddick being so good about anchoring River and her preference for him helping that way. It feeds in to my (still somewhat nebulous) idea for the ending/Enchantress battle too.

Chinese Translations:

Dà xiàng bào zhà shì de lā dù zi (To have the explosive-type diarrhea of an elephant)

tiān shā de (goddamn)

pì gu (butt)